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"He was like, 'You know when you come to my trailer and you see me like that?' He's like, 'That's the reason why.'"
Matthew Lawrence recalled an important piece of advice he received from Robin Williams as a child actor.
During an appearance at 90s Con, the 42-year-old actor reminisced about the fond memories he had with the late actor and the life lessons he learned from him while shooting "Mrs. Doubtfire".
"He was the first adult who really let me in on his condition. Like, full-on let me in," the "Boy Meets World" star said, per People. "I mean, as bright as he was on camera — I would go visit him in his trailer to talk to him — it was painful for him. It's really painful for him. He didn't hide it. He talked to me about it."
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View StoryLawrence spoke of Robin's candidness as a "gift".
"Don't ever do drugs. Especially cocaine,'" Lawrence recalled Williams saying who passed away in 2014 at age 63. "He was very serious. He was like, 'You know when you come to my trailer and you see me like that?' He's like, 'That's the reason why. And now I'm fighting for the rest of my life because I spent 10 years doing something very stupid every day. Do not do it.' I stayed away from it because of him."
The actor also revealed that the late actor was largely the reason he was chosen to star alongside him in "Mrs. Doubtfire." Lawrence was actually "a hair away" from snagging the role and revealed that he had been the second choice.
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View Story"There was another strong choice that everybody else wanted. The studio wanted this other boy...I don't know who it was, I was only 9 years old. But I did start to sense that something was up because there was like this little pause and little awkwardness and I was always the quiet one," he said.
However, during their screen test audition, Lawrence revealed that Williams wanted to "do something" which helped him become the studio's top choice.
"He very secretly reached behind my back and pinched me so hard," he said as he tried to mimic the sound. "The studio started bawling and wept. I got the role because of that little moment over the other boy. It was all Robin Williams. 'I know what I'm going to do to get this kid this job.' Thank you, Rob."
